- This is Alexey Bilyuchenko and Alexander Werner
- They stole 647k BTC from Mt. gox
- Coins were laundered through the BTC-e crypto exchange
US Department of Justice accuses two citizens of Russia in the hacking of the well-known crypto exchange Mt. gox. Recall that this is one of the largest hacks in the history of the crypto industry. It happened in 2014 when the Mt. Gox accounted for about 70% of all Bitcoin trading volume. The investigation is still ongoing, and affected customers are still waiting for their BTC to be returned.
So, the accusatory documents say the following. Alexey Bilyuchenko and Alexander Werner hacked into Mt.Gox servers in 2014 and exploited vulnerabilities in its security system to steal bitcoins. They managed to steal and withdraw about 647 thousand bitcoins.
Bilyuchenko and Alexander Werner are also accused of illegally managing the BTC-e crypto exchange. Through it, they laundered the stolen money. Recall that this platform called itself the first Russian crypto exchange. It then abruptly closed without paying out funds to customers.
But according to the US Treasury, the suspects are in Russia. At the same time, Bilyuchenko has already ended up in a Russian pre-trial detention center, he is accused of stealing cryptocurrency assets from the WEX exchange (“daughter” of BTC-e) for 3.16 billion rubles.
The US will seek the extradition of criminals. Under local law, they face up to 20 years in prison.
Meanwhile, the ex-head of BTC-e, Alexander Vinnik, is being exchanged for Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich.